Turning off PVR 501 when not in use

[salsas]

Is it a good idea to turn off the PVR 501 when not in use? When the PVR is on, the hard drive is constantly running to track the past hour of the program it's set on. Would this cause the hard drive to "wear out" more quickly? Maybe I just don't understand the full technology of the PVR, but it seems that it would be a good idea to let the hard drive rest when not in use.

I love the PVR 501. Some people seem to be having problems with it, but I think the quality of the picture after recording is superb as well as the sound. It's way better than I anticipated. Slow motion and blocking out the non-subscribed channels on the theme lists are my only requests so far.

[Neil Derryberry]

There's a whole religious argument about whether or not to turn computers on or off, and when you think about it, the 501 is a specialized computer... it has a hard drive.

Personally, i turn mine off at night... I feel like this isn't a bad exercise for the hard disk, and that also gets me my software updates.

[Mark Lamutt]

Salsas,

I used to leave mine on all the time, but now I turn it off at night because I have it in an audio cabinet and it generates heat. I wouldn't worry too much about leaving it on or turning it off - whatever works for you.

[Mark Holtz]

If you don't turn off the 501 when it's not in use, you won't be able to get the firmware updates or get the full nine-day update on the program guide.